Over the past several years, there has been extensive interest in electronic games played upon the video screen of standard home television receivers. These video games have generally tended to simulate sports action such as tennis, hockey, football, handball and the like. A number of patents have been issued relating to the electronic apparatus required or utilized for playing such video games including U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,095, granted Aug. 13, 1974 to Baer; No. 3,778,058, granted Dec. 13, 1973 to Rusch; No. Re 28,598, reissued Oct. 28, 1975 to Baer et al; No. Re 28,507, reissued Aug. 5, 1975 to Rusch; No. 3,728,480, granted Apr. 17, 1973 to Baer; and No. 3,809,395, granted May 7, 1974 to Allison et al.
A target game played on a video screen is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,676, granted July 31, 1962 to Hermann et al. A photosensitive light gun adapted for use in conjunction with a cathode ray screen is disclosed in Glaser et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,151,248, granted Sept. 29, 1964.
Moreover, there have existed previously various target games utilizing projected light beams to actuate photoelectric cells for registering hits, the light beam generally being transmitted from the barrel of a simulated firearm.
It will be appreciated that the light sensing means must be capable of discriminating between the target image or beam and ambient light such as for example sunlight, fluorescent light, incandescent light, etc. If such discrimination is not provided, then spurious hits will inevitably be recorded.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel target game which may be utilized in conjunction with the video screen of a television receiver so as to sense when a simulated firearm is aligned with a target image on the video screen.
It is also an object to provide such a target game which will discrimate between the video target image and spurious or ambient light sources.
Another object is to provide such a game apparatus which may be constructed so as to provide several circuit subassemblies for producing light discrimination and comparing the sensed light image with a known standard corresponding to a video screen image.
A further object is to provide such a game apparatus which will indicate a hit and will also indicate the number of"shots".
Still another object is to provide a method for playing a target game utilizing a simulated firearm and a video screeen generating a target image, which method permits discrimination between the target image and spurious or ambient light sources.